Sweatband structure



3, 1944- F. OSTOLAZA ETAL SWEET BAND STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 14, 1942mmvroxs FRANK OSTOLAZA GLENN E. HOLMES A raw E Patented Feb. 8, 19 44SWEATBAND STRUCTURE- Frank Ostolaza, Florissant, and Glenn E. Holmes,St. Louis, Mo., assignors to Mexican American Hat Company, St. Louis,Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application August 14, 1942, Serial No.454,866

4 Claims. (01. 2'183) This invention relates to certain new improvementsin sweat band structures for hats, helmets and the like, and moreparticularly to the supporting and positioning means for a sweat band inthe crown of such hat or helmet.

An object of theinvention is to provide a sweat band structure which isreadily adjustable to comfortably accommodate various head sizes, yetmay be expanded to allow nesting of one hat crown within another toattain a considerable saving in storage and shipping space.

A further object is attained in the provision of a sweat band supportingmeans or holder which is simple in construction and economical ofmanufacture for adjustably supporting a sweat band, yet is suflicientlyflexible to allow various adjustments to readily and comfortablyaccommodate various head shapes and sizes.

These and other apparent objects are attained in the provision of asweat band structure comprising a semi-rigid, yet flexible, relativelywide, and perimetrally adjustable sweat band; and a plurality of sweatband holders constructed of a semi-rigid yet flexible material and beingsuitably secured to the inner face of the crown portion of a hat orhelmet. The holders are each provided with a pair of spaced verticalslots or openings through which extend the said sweat band, the combinedband and holders providing a sweat band structure which is simple inconstruction,

easily assembled and economically manufactured.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hat illustrating the sweat bandstructure of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail cross section as viewed along line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the sweat band andholder of this invention.

Referring now to the drawing by suitable characters of reference, thereis illustrated in Fig. 1 a preferred embodiment of the invention whichcomprises a hat or helmet A consisting generally of a brim I and a crownportion 2 in which is positioned a novel sweat band structure B. Thesweat band structure B comprises a sweat band 3 and a pair of holders 4,each holder 4 being constructed of a relatively thin sheet ofsemi-rigid, yet flexible material, such as fibre, and comprises asubstantially rectangular body portion 5 extending upwardly to providean integral securing flange 6, said flange having ears 1 extendinglongitudinally and outwardly beyond each vertical end margin 8 of thebody portion 5.

Spaced longitudinally of, and located near the end margins 8 of the bodyportion 5, is a pair of vertically'extending openings or slots 9, eachbeing substantially rectangular in shape and aligned to receivetherethrough a sweat band 3. Each holder is adapted to be secured to theinner face of each side wall of the crown portion of the hat or helmet Aby a single row of stitches [0 through and along the flange portion 6and through the crown side wall, the holder being so positioned that itslower margin I l is substantially adjacent the lower extent of the crown2. It being understood, of course, that the flange 6 may be secured tothe crown by means other than stitching, such as rivets, eyelets,staples, or a suitable adhesive.

Adapted to be threaded through and positioned by the slots 9 of holders4 is the sweat band 3 which comprises a flexible, relatively wide band12 and having secured to each of its outer ends i3, as by staples I4, acord or tape l5.

In assembly, the band 3 is threaded through the slots 9 and, with thecord ends l5 untied, the rigidity of the holder 4 will position the bandagainst or close to the inner side wall of the crown 2 so that severalhats may be nested for economy of shipping and storage space. When inuse the tape or band ends l5 are drawn together and knotted as at It toadjust or contract the perimeter of the band to fit the head of thewearer; the relation of the band and holder is such that the band willslide in the slots of the holder so that the band will comfortablyconform to the shape of the wearers head. When adjusted to fit thewearers head the band will be spaced away from the hat crown to allowfree circulation of air around and over the head of the wearer.

It should be further pointed out that when the band has been adjusted tothe desired size, the band will conform to the shape and contour of thewearers head which makes for a comfort able condition between the bandand the wearers head; to this end it should be noted that theaforementioned comfortable condition between the band and wearers headis accomplished by the novel holder construction which allows suilicientmovement of the band with respect to the hat, yet when the perimeter ofthe band is shortened the whole band shape will be constricted toaccommodate the exact head shape of the user.

It is to be understood that various alterations and additions may bemade to the assembly, use and detailed construction without departingfrom the spirit and intended scope of the ap- IJ-ended claims.

We claim:

1. In combination with a helmet, a plurality of sweat band holders eachcomprising a substantially rectangular piece of semi-rigid materialfixedly secured near and along one of its horizontal margins to theinner face of the helmet crown and having a plurality of'spacedvertically extending slots; and a flexible perimetrally adjustable sweatband threaded through said slots for adjustably supporting said bandwithin said helmet.

2. In combination with a ,hat and a sweat band, a sweat band holdercomprising arelatively flat, semi-rigid, yet flexible body portion, asecuring flange integral with said body portion and adapted to besecured to the inner ,face of the hat crown, said holder body portionhaving a pair of vertical slots spaced from and adjacent to the sidemargins of said body for adjustably supporting said band in respectto-said hat.

3. In combination with a hat "having -a brim and a crown, of a pluralityof sweat band holders each comprising a body portion and an integralsecuring flange, said holder body portion being provided with aplurality of spaced vertically extending slots, means for securing saidflange to the inner face of the hat crown portion, an adjustable sweatband positioned internally of said hat crown and threaded through saidholder slots for adjustably supporting and positioning said sweat bandin relation to said hat crown.

4. In combination with a hat having a brim and a crown, of a pluralityof sweat band holders each constructed of a semi-rigid, yet flexiblematerial and comprising a rectangular body portion, a securing flangeextending upwardly from and integral with said body portion, said holderbody portion being provided with longitudinally FRANK OSTOLAZA. GLENN E.HOLMES.

